IB 

Union Calendar No. 648 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9151 

[Report No. 118–784] 

To strengthen the Department of Justice’s enforcement against trade-related 

crimes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 25, 2024 

Mrs. HINSON (for herself, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. MOOLENAAR, Mr. IVEY, 

Mr. LAHOOD, Mr. LIEU, Mr. MORAN, Ms. ROSS, Mr. CLINE, Ms. 

DELAURO, Mr. KILEY, Ms. STEVENS, Ms. STEFANIK, and Mr. CORREA) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

NOVEMBER 29, 2024 

Additional sponsors: Mr. CARSON, Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania, Mr. DAVIS of 

North Carolina, Mr. ARRINGTON, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Mr. CARL, Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana, 

Mr. FINSTAD, and Ms. LEE of Nevada 

NOVEMBER 29, 2024 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 25, 2024] 


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A BILL 

To strengthen the Department of Justice’s enforcement 

against trade-related crimes. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting American 

5 Industry and Labor from International Trade Crimes Act 

6 of 2024’’. 

7 SEC. 2. TRADE-RELATED CRIMES DEFINED. 

8 In this Act, the term ‘‘trade-related crimes’’ shall be 

9 defined as violations of law that are implicated by criminal 

10 activities in furtherance of the evasion of duties, tariffs, and 

11 other import- and export-related fees, import and export re12 strictions, or requirements imposed by the Tariff Act of 

13 1930, the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, the Trade Act of 

14 1974, or the Countering America’s Adversaries Through 

15 Sanctions Act, as well as all other laws and regulations 

16 involving criminal activities relating to United States im17 ports and exports, trade-based money laundering, and 

18 smuggling. 

19 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW STRUCTURE TO PROS20 ECUTE INTERNATIONAL TRADE CRIMES. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—A task force, named program, or 

22 other similar structure to investigate and prosecute trade23 related crimes, with particular emphasis on violations of 

24 the statutes enumerated in section 4(a)(2), shall be estab25 lished within the Criminal Division of the Department of 


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1 Justice not later than 120 days after the date on which ap2 propriations are made available to carry out this Act, and 

3 coordinated by a supervisory criminal trial attorney se4 lected by the Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal 

5 Division or other official designated by the Attorney Gen6 eral. 

7 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—To support this effort, the At8 torney General shall— 

9 (1) create within the Criminal Division of the 

10 Department of Justice new positions for criminal 

11 trial attorneys and associated support personnel re12 sponsible for leading and coordinating trade-related 

13 crime investigations and cases, including those that 

14 may significantly impact more than one district; 

15 (2) ensure that experienced and technically 

16 qualified criminal prosecutors support the effort; and 

17 (3) promote and ensure effective interaction with 

18 law enforcement, industry representatives, and the 

19 public in matters relating to trade-related crimes. 

20 SEC. 4. DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS OF NEW TRADE CRIMES 

21 STRUCTURE. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Through the efforts of the task force, 

23 named program, or other structure identified in section 

24 3(a), the Attorney General shall accomplish each of the fol25 lowing: 


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1 (1) Increase the capabilities and capacity of the 

2 Criminal Division of the Department of Justice to 

3 prosecute trade-related crimes. 

4 (2) Increase the number of trade-related crimes 

5 being investigated and prosecuted, including pursuant 

6 to health, safety, financial, and economic trade-re7 lated crimes, including— 

8 (A) section 305 of title 13, United States 

9 Code; 

10 (B) section 15 or 16 of the Toxic Substances 

11 Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2614 or 2615); 

12 (C) section 371 of title 18, United States 

13 Code; 

14 (D) section 541 of title 18, United States 

15 Code; 

16 (E) section 542 of title 18, United States 

17 Code; 

18 (F) section 543 of title 18, United States 

19 Code; 

20 (G) section 545 of title 18, United States 

21 Code; 

22 (H) section 546 of title 18, United States 

23 Code; 

24 (I) section 554 of title 18, United States 

25 Code; 


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1 (J) section 1001 of title 18, United States 

2 Code; 

3 (K) section 1341 of title 18, United States 

4 Code; 

5 (L) section 1343 of title 18, United States 

6 Code; 

7 (M) section 1349 of title 18, United States 

8 Code; 

9 (N) section 1956 of title 18, United States 

10 Code; 

11 (O) section 1957 of title 18, United States 

12 Code; 

13 (P) section 2320 of title 18, United States 

14 Code; and 

15 (Q) section 301 of the Federal Food, Drug, 

16 and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 331). 

17 For the purposes of this Act, this list does not include 

18 violations of national security-related laws and regu19 lations, including the Arms Export Control Act (22 

20 U.S.C. 2771 et seq.), International Emergency Eco21 nomic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), Export 

22 Control and Reform Act (50 U.S.C. 4801 et seq.), and 

23 the Trading with the Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. 4305(b)). 

24 (3) Participate in basic and advanced training 

25 events with Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. 


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1 Customs and Border Protection, and other Federal 

2 agencies and provide technical assistance, where ap3 propriate, to Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. 

4 Customs and Border Protection, and other Federal 

5 agencies with respect to the investigation and prosecu6 tion of trade-related crimes. 

7 (4) Develop multi-jurisdictional responses and 

8 partnerships with respect to trade-related crimes 

9 through informational, administrative, and techno10 logical support to other Federal agencies and agencies 

11 of countries that are trading partners of the United 

12 States, as a means for such agencies to acquire the 

13 necessary knowledge, personnel, and specialized equip14 ment to investigate and prosecute trade-related 

15 crimes. 

16 (5) Participate in nationally coordinated inves17 tigations in any case in which the Attorney General 

18 determines such participation to be necessary, as per19 mitted by the available resources of the Department of 

20 Justice. 

21 (6) Ensure that all components that enforce laws 

22 against trade-related crimes regularly consult with 

23 each other. 

24 (b) ABSENCE OF EXCLUSION OF PURSUING OTHER

25 REMEDIES.—Litigation by the Criminal Division of the 


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1 Department of Justice shall not preclude additional crimi2 nal prosecution or civil action against trade-related viola3 tions. Nothing in this Act shall prevent the Criminal Divi4 sion, Civil Division, and other Department of Justice com5 ponents from pursuing enforcement action where appro6 priate. 

7 SEC. 5. ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

8 The Attorney General, in consultation with the Sec9 retary of Homeland Security, shall submit to the Committee 

10 on the Judiciary, Committee on Ways and Means, and 

11 Committee on Financial Services of the House of Represent12 atives, and the Committee on the Judiciary and Committee 

13 on Finance of the Senate a report on the work of the De14 partment of Justice with respect to investigation and en15 forcement of trade-related crimes. Specifically, the report 

16 shall— 

17 (1) be submitted not later than one year after the 

18 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually there19 after, not later than February 1 of each year that be20 gins after the submission of the first report; 

21 (2) include annual statistics on the volume of 

22 publicly charged trade-related crimes and indict23 ments; 

24 (3) include a summary on how the funds appro25 priated for trade-related crimes were utilized in the 


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1 prior reporting period, including staff and operating 

2 expenses; and 

3 (4) provide an estimate of any additional fund4 ing needed to combat trade-related crimes. 


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Union Calendar No. 648 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9151 

[Report No. 118–784] 

A BILL 

To strengthen the Department of Justice’s 

enforcement against trade-related crimes. 

NOVEMBER 29, 2024 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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